Valentine's Day
by Eevee07
Summary: It's Iris' first valentines day, and she doesn't look forward to it. Why? Because she doesn't have any friends. But will the day end up as bad as she thought it would?


**Ages:**

**Iris - 8**

**Ash - 8**

* * *

Iris puffed up her cheeks while glaring down on her pencil crayon moving back and forth on the big, red paper heart.

"Iris, honey? Are you done yet?" A female voice called from the kitchen.

Iris resisted the urge to yell out in frustration and annoyance. "No, not yet," she replied in an slightly annoyed voice.

She forced herself to glance down again on the icky large, red, heart-shaped Valentines card, bordered with white lace ribbon. On the edges she had drawn small, black hearts and with three orange candies in red wrapper pasted in the middle. Not caring to be gentle, she wrote a note saying 'for Hilda' on it as quickly as she could. Then, she forcefully tuckled the card into a baby pink envelope. Finally done with this nonsense!

While the card might looked cute on the first eyesight, it looked anything but that in Iris' eyes. She absolutely did not see the meaning in doing this as she never had celebrated this so called _holiday_ before. Back at the Dragon Village, they would only celebrate big events such as new year and the yearly Dragon festival, a festival dedicated to Dragon type Pokémon. Birthdays were briefly mentioned sometimes, but it was no big deal either. The kids were simply too busy playing with each other and also with the other wild Pokemon living in the village.

Iris' mother, Rose, didn't really care about minor holidays either. Or well, she _didn't_. After she and Iris moved to Opelucid City with her new husband Drayden for a few weeks ago, Rose had become slightly different by her personality. It was obvious that she was absolutely in love with her new husband, and therefore she had become more bubbly and happy than she used to be. Back at the Dragon Village, Rose had been strict but kind, but now all that strictness had miraculously washed away. She had always loved flowers, and when Iris used to bring her flowers to tuck in her hair she would instantly lighten up. But now when Drayden brought her flower bouquets on his way from work, Rose would embrace him tightly and peak his cheek, happiness glinting in her eyes. Of course Iris was happy for her mother's happiness, but she would become happier if everyone could stop obsessing over Valentine's day and talking about how important love was. Seriously, if love was so important why wouldn't people just dedicate every day for it instead of focus heavily on the subject on one certain day a year? And Iris definitely did _not_ care for valentine's day. Nope, not at all.

Now her class_mates_ and teacher had came to an agreement to make Valentines cards to everyone in class so nobody felt left out. _Yeah right_. When Iris first arrived to Opelucid City, she was awe struck by the beautiful and colorful city. People walked happily around and the city was modern, at least more than the Dragon Village was. She remembered how she bragged to her friends about moving to the big city to learn more about Dragon types. Everyone had gathered together around the purple haired girl, either envying her or simply being fascinated by the stuff she told them. She was pumped up when she first entered the gates of Opelucid Elementary, ready to learn all about Dragon types! But everything took a dramatic turn too soon.

Her classmates seemed nice enough. But the problems started when she was told to sit down and read her English textbook. Iris never really bothered to read back at the Dragon Village. Sure she would, but not hours after hours. Iris became restless when twenty minutes passed by. She would shift in her seat, making herself as comfortable as she could. But it was no use, she just hated sitting still for long amounts of times! She was making such a fuss that the teacher sent Iris out to the hallway for making disturbance in class. And there Iris sat very often, hugging her knees tightly and hoping the teacher would open the door so she could come in again.

At recess, Iris would run around with the school's Pokemon, swinging by the threes and even wading in the water with the water type Pokemon. The Pokemon absolutely adored the purple haired girl who would play with them regardless if her clothes became wet. When Iris would ask the others if they wanted to play along with her, they would decline politely, claiming that they had to study. Others gave her weird looks and walked away.

Iris didn't understand why. She was used to playing around wildly with her friends, and could not see why someone bothered doing homework in the _recess_, out of all times!

"Do you need any help?" Rose, who had evidently been working in the kitchen, walked into the room. Then she eyed the cards on the table and smiled sweetly at her daughter. "Oh, you're done already? You sure are effective!"

"Yeah, sure," Iris muttered under her breath.

"You okay, honey?" Rose asked softly, kneeling down beside her.

Iris wanted to tell her she wasn't. All she wanted was to move back to the Dragon Village. She missed her friends, the Elder, the wild Pokemon and also the fresh air. She didn't fit in this City at all. At least that was what she felt. Biting her lip, she shook her head quickly. Iris knew Rose loved this place very much, and she didn't want to ruin everything for her. No, not now when her mother was happier than ever. And also, Drayden had been very nice to Iris too.

"N- no!" She quacked, plastering a smile on her face. "I- I just... uhm.. think this Holiday is a little weird that's all."

Rose looked at her before a smile curled up on her lips too. "Okay, if that's all... I know everything is new and also strange right now, but everything will fall into the right places soon, dear." She planted a kiss on the purple haired girl's forehead, stroking her long hair slowly. "Oh, whose card is this?"

Iris followed her mother's gaze to a plain, white card. There were no stickers on it unlike the others, only big black letters reading 'Ash Ketchum.' Iris frowned and crossed her little arms. "Just some kid's. It doesn't matter, really." Iris quickly shoved all the cards into her pink backpack before her mother could comment on them.

"Don't you think we should decorate it a little more?" Rose asked.

"No, he uh.. doesn't like mushy cards!" Iris replied, pleased with her answers. "Can I eat the rest of the candy now?" She asked hopefully, gesturing to the remaining candies at the table.

Rose chuckled at this, nodding. "Of course. But don't eat everything up! Dinner will be served soon."

"Don't worry, I won't!" Iris called as she grabbed the candy pack and ran out of the living room.

Rose smiled after her. She knew Iris had worked very hard with those cards even though she rather would go out and play. It wouldn't hurt that she finished everything up for her? And with that she got to work to properly seal all the envelopes.

* * *

It was the next day, or more specifically, Valentine's day. After Drayden dropped off Iris by the school gate, she began walking to class, her backpack filled with cards. All the third graders were excitedly walking around and greeting each other with smiles and hugs. Iris simply walked through the crowd and into the classroom, not bothering to act all mushy. She began slipping the cards from her backpack into the boxes. Every student had a box made by them which everyone else was putting the Valentines Day cards and gifts. There, all done! Only one card remained.

Looking down and pulling out a beautiful, pink envelope out of her backpack, she curiously looked at it. The envelope was decorated with Pokemon stickers and in pretty, cursive letters it read _For Ash_.

Wait.

What?

Iris read the envelope once again. _For Ash!?_ She didn't remember spending much time on his card, and she definitely did _not_ make his envelope this pretty! This was a mistake! She couldn't give him this card. She should-

"Alright kids!" The teacher clapped her hands to shush the students. When everyone had calmed down she plastered a happy smile on her face. Sighing, Iris knew she had to sit down. She slipped the card into Ash's box and walked over to her desk.

"Are you all ready to throw our little Valentines day party?" She asked in a happy voice.

Everyone broke out into loud cheers and started clapping, making the teacher chuckle. Then she brought heart-shaped cookies and red fruit-punch for everyone, starting their little party.

Iris looked at the others, bragging about their full boxes and eating cookies. Even though everyone had equally full boxes, Ash had gotten slightly more cards and candy. He sat by his desk, surrounded by classmates happily making conversations with him. Iris rolled her eyes and looked out of the window.

She didn't like Ash. Or actually, she was really jealous of him. He arrived at this class three weeks after Iris came, and instantly become the most popular student. While people thought Iris was strange, nobody questioned Ash when he played with the school's Pokemon. The kids even joined him. And when he was being restless in class, the students would just laugh while he was smiling sheepishly. Unlike her he was never sent to the hallway. Everything Iris did she felt Ash did it better. How come they accepted Ash so easily, but not her?

It was unfair, and she hated it.

Sighing deeply, she reached out for her box and opened it. Surprisingly enough, she had gotten many cards too. She was afraid her classmates wouldn't bother decorating the cards, but the cards she received were also very pretty. With a slight smile, she opened a red envelope and pulled out a small, heart shaped chocolate. She yanked off the red wrapping and popped the sweet treat into her mouth. She enjoyed the sweet taste spreading in her mouth peacefully, until someone poked her arm.

Iris, not used to talking to anyone in class, looked up in surprise. There _he_ stood. With a happy expression on his face. Oh, and also with a big, read heart in his hands. Curious, Iris raised an eyebrow at him. "What is it?" She asked, trying not to sound rude.

"I forgot to give you the card I made for you," he rubbed the back of his head, smiling sheepishly at her. "Here you go, Iris! Happy Valentines day!"

"I uh..." Iris hesitated, eyeing the card. Hey, wait a minute. Did he do this on purpose? Did he mean to give her, the loner in class, the card on purpose so everyone could see how nice and caring he was? She looked around, noticing that almost everyone was looking at her direction. The loud chatter had now dimmed down as everyone was looking at the two. Ash still stood beside her, beaming with happiness.

"Here, it's all yours!" He repeated, waving the card in front of her. Now some of their classmates were giggling and pointing at Iris.

Iris, uncomfortable by the stares, stood up and faced Ash. While the negative thoughts filled her head, she angrily glared at Ash. "I don't want your stupid card!" She yelled, pushing him away. "So leave me alone already!"

Iris dashed past Ash and out of the classroom, ignoring the teacher's shouting after her. She had no idea where she was heading to. The only thing in her mind was to get away from that classroom. Running out of the front doors, she quickly looked from left to right. She eyed the large Oak three and sprinted towards it. Jumping up the branches, she was soon on the top.

Here she was safe, at least.

She quickly wiped a tear that had escaped from her eyes with her sleeve, looking out at the city with blurred eyesight. This was her usual spot when she was sad or upset. And she had been that a lot since she arrived at this school. She inhaled the fresh air and tried to keep calm. Suddenly realizing that what she just did could be totally unnecessary, her cheeks slowly turned a few shades redder. What if he really forgot to give her the card? And he was just trying to be friendly with her?

As she was lost at her thoughts, she didn't notice that someone was looking up at the three below her. "Iris?"

Iris' head snapped towards the voice, locking eyes with Ash once again. He was shading his eyes with his hand, waving at her with a slight smile. Iris forced a smile back, wondering if he was mad at her.

"Can I come up?" He asked when she didn't say anything.

"S-Sure," Iris stuttered, going back to look over the city again. She listened as he climbed up the branches and sat down quietly beside her. No one of them said anything as they peacefully eyed the city together.

"Do you hate me?" Ash asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

"Huh?" Iris did not expect that question. "W- why would I hate you? I did push you after all and called your card stupid, so you should be the one being mad at _me_."

Ash shook his head. "No. I know it was stupid of me to forget to give you the card I made for you. But I guess, that's the way I am, forgetting simple things like that. I didn't mean to make fun of you in front of the whole class. I didn't see how uncomfortable you were with that, everyone looking at us and stuff..." Ash looked down at his folded hands. "Sorry."

"Oh," Iris replied, briefly looking at him. "I- I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have done that. In fact... I was kind of envying you all this time. I-I was new here before you, but I couldn't get any friends regardless of what I did," her voice trailed off. "But then you came, making friends with everyone."

Ash laughed slightly. "I know how you feel," he replied. "I- I didn't have any friends before I came here."

"What?" Iris asked, surprised by the new information. "But, but you're super cool and everyone likes you!"

"Well," Ash smiled sadly. "There was this.. kid at my previous class. We had been friends for a long time, until we started fighting about something. Usually we would forget about our fights, but this time it went out of hand, I guess. So, when I came to school, everyone was against me. This kid was my only f- friend, so I didn't have anyone else to play with. Of course everyone believed him, and I was left out. They would call names after me, and after a while I refused to go back to school. Then my mom decided that she had enough of that place and we moved here."

Iris looked wide eyed at Ash. "Ash, I- I didn't know.."

"I guess I got a little carried away," he continued. "I was so happy being able to get a new start and friends that I forgot how horrible it is to be left alone."

"I- I" Iris began, tears flowing down her red tinted cheeks again.

Ash looked at her, getting a surprised look on his face as he noticed her tears. "Oh, there's no need to cry," he said softly, cupping her face and trailed his thumbs over her cheeks, wiping away the tears.

"Y-you don't understand," Iris sobbed. "I was being selfish and jealous. I never thought about you this whole time. All this time I was just pitying myself-"

Ash wrapped his small arms around the purple haired girl and held her tight as she slowly calmed down in his embrace. "I understand," he replied. "I would probably do the same if I was you."

Iris pulled back and wiped the last tears with her sleeve again, feeling slightly better.

"Now, with that being out of the world, here's your card," he smiled at her, holding the big, red heart.

Iris accepted the card, opening it to reveal a small pack of strawberry pufflets. Iris looked at the card and then back at Ash. "H- how did you know these are my favorites?" She asked.

"I didn't," Ash grinned proudly. "I noticed that you always have strawberry jam on your toast, so I thought that you love strawberries. So I when I was buying treats to everyone I especially bought those for you!"

"That's so nice of you!" Iris beamed, her sadness fading away. "I love the card too, thank you!" She pulled the raven haired boy into a hug, grinning happily.

"No problem," Ash laughed. "And also thanks for the card you gave me. It was really pretty! Was it handmade?"

"That card..." Iris guessed that her mother had decorated the card, so she couldn't take credit for it. After all she was about to give him a blank card! "My mother decorated the most of it," she explained.

"Even so, I'm happy for it!" Ash beamed.

"Glad you do," Iris smiled back. She opened the small pack of strawberry pufflets and offered Ash some. "You want one?"

"Thank you," he said, taking one of the pink and white gummy treats.

Iris also took one, enjoying the sweet strawberry taste she loved so much.

_"Ash! Iris! Where are you!?"_

Iris and Ash looked back at the playground, eyeing the students all looking for them. They quickly exchanged a glance, wondering if they should go yet or not.

"Should we go back?" Ash asked.

"I don't know," Iris muttered. "They're probably annoyed by me, ruining the party and all."

"Nah, you didn't ruin the party at all!" Ash smiled at her. "Everyone was worried about you and was willing to go out to search for you. There's no party without you, Iris. You're a part of the class too!"

Iris, surprised by his words, looked hopefully at him. "I- I am? So they don't think I'm weird?"

"No," Ash shook his hand. "I forgot to tell you, but they told me that by the time you came to this class they were having a big test. So everyone was studying and that's why they didn't have time to play with you."

"Ah, so when I stopped talking to them they thought I was just keeping to myself because I wanted to?"

"That's it!" Ash nodded, realizing that as well.

"B- but, when you were giving me the Valentines card they were all giggling and looking at us?" Iris frowned.

"Beats me," Ash scratched his head. "They said something like 'since I was always asking about you, I was going to confess my feelings'. Whatever that means," Ash cluelessly added.

Iris giggled at this, realizing how dense Ash really was.

"What is it?" He asked. "Did you get what they meant by that?"

"Well, I think it's better if you found out by yourself," she winked at him.

"Hey not fair! Tell me!" He insisted, looking hopefully at her.

"Nu-uh!" Iris crossed her arms and laughed.

Ash pouted, but quickly got over it. "They're still searching for us, we should head back."

"Of course," Iris replied as she tried to stand up.

"Hey wait, it's too dangerous to stand on those branches," Ash told her, reaching out his hand. "Let's climb down together."

Iris put her hand on top of his as she slided down. "Okay."

"And Iris?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you be my friend?"

Iris locked eyes with Ash and smiled warmly at him. "Sure!"

Maybe her new life wouldn't turn out to be so bad after all.

**x**

**I Hope you liked it :)**

**Happy Valentine's Day everyone!**


End file.
